SEISMIC TEST FOR COMPACTION OF EMBANKMENT, BASE COURSE, AND PAVEMENT LAYERS

SEISMIC VELOCITY MEASUREMENTS WERE CORRELATED WITH IN-PLACE DENSITY TESTS (SAND CONE, BALLOON, OIL DISPLACEMENT, ETC.) IN RESEARCH TO ESTABLISH NEW NON-DESTRUCTIVE TEST PROCEDURES FOR USE IN HIGHWAY CONSTRUCTION. USING SMALL, SINGLE-CHANNEL, HAMMER-IMPACT TYPE SEISMIC UNITS, A 3 TO 5 MINUTE TEST PERIOD IS PRACTICAL. TIME OF WAVE TRAVEL IS MEASURED AT 0.5-FOOT INTERVALS OVER A 1.5-FOOT DISTANCE OVER A 6-IN COMPACTED LAYER. A TIME-DISTANCE GRAPH IS DEVELOPED, THE RECIPROCAL OF THE SLOPE BEING EQUATED TO THE MEASURED VELOCITY. SECONDARY WAVE ARRIVALS BELIEVED TO BE SHEAR OR RAYLEIGH WAVES WERE USED IN A COMPUTATION OF POISSON'S RATIO. THE FINDINGS PRESENTED WERE BASED, IN LARGE PART, ON FIELD TESTS ON ACTIVE CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS. THE DATA FOR 254 TESTS CORRELATING SEISMIC VELOCITY AND STANDARD IN-PLACE DENSITY MEASUREMENTS ON COMPACTED ROADWAY LAYERS INDICATED AN ESSENTIALLY STRAIGHT-LINE RELATION EXISTS BETWEEN THE TWO. STANDARD DEVIATIONS FROM THE STRAIGHT LINE RANGED FROM AN AVERAGE OF 2.30 PERCENT AND 2.20 PERCENT OF MAXIMUM DRY DENSITY FOR TESTS MADE ON GRANULAR AND SUBGRADE MATERIALS, RESPECTIVELY, TO 0.67 PERCENT OF LABORATORY DENSITY FOR TESTS MADE ON BITUMINOUS MATERIALS. /FHWA/

• Corporate Authors:

  Federal Highway Administration

  Office of Research and Development, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Authors:
  • Moore, R W
• Publication Date: 1973-4

Media Info

• Pagination: 37 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Base course (Pavements); Density; Dry density; Elastic waves; Embankments; Field tests; Graphics; Measurement; Nondestructive tests; Poisson ratio; Road construction; Soil compaction test
• Uncontrolled Terms: Graphical analysis
• Old TRIS Terms: Compaction tests; Density measurement; Poissons ratio
• Subject Areas: Geotechnology; Highways; Materials;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00216000
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Federal Highway Administration
• Report/Paper Numbers: FHWA-RD-73- 31 Final Rpt., FCP 24F6-014
• Files: TRIS, USDOT
• Created Date: Jun 5 1976 12:00AM